Cessna 207 accident near Chevak, Alaska, February 22, 1997
On February 22, 1997 at about 10:40 pm local time, a Cessna 207, registered N7389U, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chevak, Alaska (Chevak airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's continued VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions, his misjudgment of distance and altitude during the approach to land, and his failure to attain a proper touchdown point during the landing. A factor relating to the accident was: the flat/white-out lighting condition.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 12, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 22, 1997 · about 10:40 pm local time · cases in 1997
- Place
- Chevak, Alaska · Chevak · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207 · all 207s on the register
- Registration
- N7389U · registry record · serial 20700423
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was on a cargo flight and was making an intermediate stop at a remote airport. Another company airplane landed about 3 minutes before the accident flight. The weather conditions included flat lighting conditions and overcast skies. Visibility near the runway varied from 1/2 to 3/4 mile in blowing snow, with a right quartering crosswind of 20 to 30 knots. The pilot indicated the airplane developed a high sink rate near the approach end of the runway, and he added engine power to stabilize the landing approach. The pilot reported that about 150 to 200 yards from the approach end of the runway, he encountering white-out conditions. The nose wheel of the airplane struck a snow berm 12 inches wide and 6 inches high, at the edge of the runway safety area, about 100 feet short of the runway threshold. Witnesses observed the airplane approaching the runway at a shallow angle with nearly 200 yards remaining before the beginning of the runway environment. The runway was marked with illuminated lighting and orange cones.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,300 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model; 311 in the last 90 days; 119 in the last 30 days; 6,200 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 15,460 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 13, 1997; 16 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BET Bethel AL at 9:30 pm
- Destination: VAK
- Runway 32, 2,610 ft by 40 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 325° at 20 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility: 0.5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 700 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N7389U the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N7389U on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 207 Skywagon 207 115 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,684 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F 80 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Chevak Airport · nearest airport
- Bethel Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,930 since 1982 · 824 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,146 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N7389U 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC97LA027.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.